


Play!

by Legendensammler



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Gen, Rambling, Volleyball
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:02:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24437887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Legendensammler/pseuds/Legendensammler
Summary: This is just a random Rambling, Train of thought i had when i once again missed playing Volleyball during Quarantine.Its not really Haikyuu related other than the Sport of volleyball, and my recent Rewatch of the Anime inspiring it.





	Play!

Volleyball as a Sport should be dead simple really. 1 Net, 3 Touches, 6 Players on each of 2 Teams, and whoever drops the ball to the floor loses. It should be simple. But it isnt. It looks simple, until it doesn't. Then you learn. It begins to look easy, then you play your first match. And it isn't. Its a cycle, a cycle that promises to end but never does, keeps you coming back for more, a maelstrom that sucks you in through all its highs and lows. Within it is the eye of the Storm. That moment, on the court. Silence within uproar, a moment of calm in an atmosphere moving fast. In that moment, in that game, the match is all that counts. Not even that. The point is all that counts. That one singular touch is all it comes down to. Just a single touch. Just one quick moment.

Volleyball is a sport filled with these moments. The big moments, and the small. The moments of triumph, the moments of failure, the moments of synchronicity. The perfect touch, the angle you see, the stretch for a ball you can barely make. And you make it, sometimes. The one-word command you exchange with a teammate. The wordless exchange that follows. Feeling the ball across your fingertips, against your palm, your feet pressing into the hardwood, then off it, your legs sliding over the ground. It’s a sport that blends in these moments, and between them. And in this sport of moments, we find our own.  
Everyone has them. Some cherish finding the perfect height, the perfect length, the perfect return angle to pass a Ball, find deep glee in the sound of the palm hitting the ball, or the feeling when your palm gets hit with a ball, confirming a read on a timing that you were not quite sure of.

These plays, these moments of perfection in the chaos, these sprinkles of genius are what make the play exciting. But as much as these plays are the best thing to happen to you, the player, in any given game, they are not the best thing to happen in the sport, in the game as a whole. The best Moments of Volleyball are never individual. They are always a teams. Sometimes either team has Moments to themselves, sometimes both teams create Moments together. The trust you gain with your partners, knowing neither of you can play without the other, knowing you are dependent on each others touch, each others skill, that’s a rare feeling, cherish it.

In Volleyball, the best player mostly wins. That’s a fact. The Player that jumps higher, plays more precise, reacts faster than anyone else on the court has the finest chances to make a big difference in the game.  
But here is the caveat. In Volleyball, the worse team always loses. Always, no exceptions. The team that is better during that time, on that day, on that Court, for that Match, in that specific moment, that team will win. Volleyball has no Context, the game stands for itself.  
Volleyball can’t be played individually. Pick any 6 People from a crowd at a Volleyball match. Given they know the Rules, there is a good chance they beat any given single player, no matter how good. The Rules of Volleyball make it a sport of Teams. A sport of connections. You can never Hold the Ball, only Touch it. You can never build an Attack, by yourself. Every Point is a Team effort. 

Imagine it. Visualize the court, you alone, on it. 81 Square Meters of cold, hardwood floor. Impossible to cover on your own. Impossibly big. There is no way you alone can make a difference here. But look to your left. Look at your partner standing there, eyes forward, focused on the Other side. Look to your right, look at your Partner standing there, half a step further to the right then last time, just like you talked about. Look behind you, There stands your Partner, knees bend, already ready to cover for everything that happens in the next couple seconds. There is your partner, Stepping deeper into the court than you know him, giving you an encouraging smile. Finally, look to the Line that marks the Court. There is your Partner, Ball in Hand, a couple steps behind the field. Unmoving. Eyes down. Focused. Breathing the last Breath before the Game begins anew.

Now Focus on the Moment.  
Eyes Forward.  
Play!


End file.
